Experience the vastness and profoundness of traditional Chinese culture, enter Wenjin Pavilion, touch history, royal family, Wenjin Pavilion, and culture

CCTV News: Today we are going to visit one of the famous pavilions in the collection of the Complete Library of Four Branches. The Wenjin Pavilion, located in the Summer Resort in Chengde City, Hebei Province, was a royal library built during the Qing Dynasty to store the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries. It is one of the "Northern Four Pavilions" mentioned earlier. In the year of compilation of the Complete Library of Four Branches, the Wenjin Pavilion began construction. As a library with a rich historical atmosphere, what are the stories inside? Next, let's follow the journalist's camera and take a look together.

CCTV reporter Yang Hailing: Walking into the summer resort during the hot summer season, you can feel a hint of coolness in summer. This is truly a summer resort. We are welcoming the peak of summer tourism, and Wenjin Pavilion is located on a small island surrounded by water in the northwest of the Summer Resort. This is Wenjin Pavilion, one of the four northern pavilions. Wenjin is a cultural knowledge hub, meaning that if one requests knowledge, they must come here to inquire. It is a building facing north and south, with a front hall, rockery, pool, library, and backyard from south to north, covering an area of 3600 square meters. Strolling through it, one can feel the solemnity and tranquility of northern gardens, as well as the gentle elegance of southern gardens.

Yu Yang, Deputy Director of the Engineering Center for the Summer Resort and Surrounding Temple Scenic Area: In the 38th year of the Qianlong reign, in 1773, he established the Siku Quanshu Study Hall and gathered over 500 scholars to compile the Siku Quanshu. When compiling, Emperor Qianlong had already considered the issue of storage, so he ordered his ministers to go to Ningbo to inspect Tianyi Pavilion and learn about its architectural style and bookshelf design. In the autumn of the same year, people were ordered to start building the Wenyuan Pavilion, Wenyuan Pavilion, and Wenjin Pavilion in the style of Tianyi Pavilion, marking the beginning of the construction of the four northern pavilions.

CCTV reporter Yang Hailing: As a library, fire prevention and sun protection were considered in the design and construction, so both the site selection and layout contain a lot of careful design.

Yu Yang, Deputy Director of the Engineering Center of the Summer Resort and Surrounding Temple Scenic Area: The Wenjin Pavilion appears to have two floors, but in reality, it has three floors. It hides a mezzanine under the eaves, and we see a large corridor, which prevents direct sunlight from shining inside and provides sun protection. When it comes to fire prevention, it uses black glazed tiles. Among the Five Elements, black belongs to water, which plays a role in suppressing fire. A large water tank was built in front, which is similar to the current fire water tank and plays a role in extinguishing fires. So it is not difficult to see that at the beginning of its construction, Wenjin Pavilion incorporated various concepts in fire prevention and sun protection.

CCTV reporter Yang Hailing: As soon as you enter, you can clearly feel that this is a library. It can be said that this was the Royal Library in the past, and you can see that there was a place for books in the library. So, did you open a reading area here back then?

Yu Yang, Deputy Director of the Engineering Center of the Summer Resort and Surrounding Temple Scenic Area: Yes, at that time, a throne or throne bed was set up for the emperor in the first floor Mingjian, second floor Shaojian, and third floor Mingjian. The emperors of the Qing Dynasty would come here to study and manage their affairs during their summer vacation at the mountain villa.

Restoring the original appearance of Wenjin Pavilion and touching history up close

In this ancient and elegant royal garden, the function of the Wenjin Pavilion Library has lasted for more than a hundred years, experiencing changes in time. The Wenjin Pavilion has suffered multiple damages, but fortunately, the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries has been well preserved and is now stored in the National Library of China. The local area has also restored the original appearance of Wenjin Pavilion, making history a part of modern life, allowing tourists to experience traditional Chinese culture up close.

CCTV reporter Yang Hailing: It is said that Emperor Qianlong lived in the summer resort for four to five months every year and often went to the Wenjin Pavilion to read. After the completion of the Wenjin Pavilion, the "Complete Library of Four Branches" was not yet fully compiled. Therefore, he bound the "Collection of Ancient and Modern Books" based on the template of the "Complete Library of Four Branches" and placed them in the pavilion for future reference. A few years later, the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries arrived at the Wenjin Pavilion and was stored here for over a hundred years.

The "Complete Library of Four Branches" in Wenjin Pavilion consists of 108 pieces and 6144 sets, divided into four parts: classics, histories, books, and collections, distinguished by green, red, blue, and gray colors. Each set is stored in such wooden boxes and is called a letter. There are wooden boards on top and bottom inside the letter, which are used to flatten the book.

Yu Yang, Deputy Director of the Engineering Center for the Summer Resort and Surrounding Temple Scenic Area: Wenjin Pavilion began construction in the 39th year of the Qianlong reign and continued to function as a library for over a hundred years until 1913. However, due to the turbulent period starting from 1913, the "Complete Library of Four Branches" in Wenjin Pavilion, including books, letters, and bookshelves, were also transported to Beijing and stored in the then Beijing Library. After the books were transported away, the function of the Wenjin Pavilion's collection gradually disappeared, and it was in a turbulent era, and the Wenjin Pavilion also suffered multiple damages.

In the 1960s, Chengde Mountain Resort, including Wenjin Pavilion, was listed among the first batch of key cultural relics under national protection. In 2010, Chengde launched a cultural heritage protection project and carried out a comprehensive restoration of the Wenjin Pavilion. A one-to-one restoration was carried out according to the "Complete Library of Four Branches" of the Wenjin Pavilion in the National Library.

CCTV reporter Yang Hailing: Several hundred years later, when you enter the library again, you can smell the faint fragrance of camphor wood and also vaguely feel a kind of aged ink fragrance. The restored Wenjin Pavilion has made history a part of life, allowing more people to touch this period of history up close and experience the vastness and profoundness of traditional Chinese culture.